Somewhere between 6,000 and 8,000 uniformed and civilian members of police services from across North America are expected to descend on Barrie today to pay their respects for two South Simcoe Police Service officers who were killed in the line of duty last week.
Constables Morgan Russell, 54, and Devon Northrup, 33, were shot and killed last Tuesday by a man inside the home after responding to a call in Innisfil. The officers had responded to a disturbance at the Alcona home around 8 p.m. Oct. 11.
The mortally wounded officers were rushed to hospital where Northrup died. Russell was airlifted to a Toronto trauma centre and succumbed to his injuries early the next morning. The 22-year-old man identified as the shooter was pronounced dead at the scene after an "exchange of gunfire" with a third officer.
A private funeral service is scheduled to begin today at 11 a.m. at Sadlon Arena in south-end Barrie. It is not open to the public, but will include other police services and emergency services personnel. Local residents can observe the funeral cortege, which begins at 9:20 a.m., as it travels from Adams Funeral Home and Cremation Services (445 St. Vincent St.) to Steckley-Gooderham Funeral Home (30 Worsley St.) before travelling to the arena on Bayview Drive. Details about the procession route can be found here.
Barrie police communications coordinator Peter Leon confirmed well over 100 uniformed and civilian members from city police will be attending today's funeral, adding many others will be involved in other capacities — ranging from traffic duty to media relations.
“It’s an opportunity to show respect. We can’t lose sight of the fact that South Simcoe police are our neighbours. A lot of our officers would know officers with the service — and the officers who were killed in the line of duty,” said Leon, who also noted attending the funeral serves as an important part of the grieving process.
“It’s very important for us to be there to support our brothers and sisters in blue.”
Although Leon did not have an exact number of people expected to attend, he said based on most recent information provided to Barrie police, they are anticipating between 6,000 and 8,000 people.
“We are working off of the most recent (police) funeral in Toronto. One thing we know is that law enforcement comes great distances for these types of things. A police funeral is something that is very important to the policing family and we are able to provide that support through our attendance,” he said.
“These were two officers that were greatly respected in their community and they were neighbours, brothers. We are making preparations and continuing to work with OPP and (South Simcoe police) to do everything possible to make (today) what the family wishes for their deceased members," Leon added.
Scott Mills, a retired police officer who now serves as a communications coordinator for the Barrie-based Ontario Provincial Police Association (OPPA), said although he’s unsure of the total number of OPP officers who will be attending the funeral, he expects their presence to be significant.
“We are at our annual general meeting this week, so we have delegates from the 20 branches from around the province in Collingwood," Mills said. "We are pausing the AGM and everyone is going to the funeral tomorrow."
Mills, who worked with both the Toronto Police Service and Peel Regional Police, said the reason behind attending today's joint funeral service is simple.
“When one of us falls, we all hurt. We want to show respect to the families, colleagues and friends left behind. We want to be together and to celebrate the good of these police officers that served and protected,” he said. “They paid the ultimate sacrifice, but they are heroes in life and not death.”
Although he did not know the officers personally, Mills, who also helps run the Ontario Police Memorial Foundation, was hoping to attend the funeral, adding he expects empty seats will be scarce on the buses as they roll out of Collingwood this morning to head to Barrie.
“We are all sad. It’s really hard because a lot of us feel ‘by the grace of God go I’ and there’s just so many situations that we go into that just could end up in tragedy like this. We feel it and we are definitely grieving," Mills said.
Police funerals are happening far too often, he noted.
“There have just been too many of these of late,” he said, not long after news of the stabbing death of RCMP Const. Shaelyn Yang, a member of the Burnaby, B.C. detachment's mental health and homeless outreach team, began to make its way to the delegation in Collingwood. “I have been to way too many of these and I really hope they stop.”
Sgt. Maj. Damien Smith, who is with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Ontario Division, said he expects approximately 80 active and retired RCMP members will attend today's service to show solidarity with their policing partners.
“We all, as police officers, understand the inherent dangers in the job — nevertheless, it’s always a heartbreaking moment when these events occur,” he said. “As you can understand, for all of us in the policing community, it’s a very difficult time to have so many tragedies occurring so frequently.
"It’s been a very hard time for a great many police officers across this country," Smith added.
In an email, York Regional Police Association (YRPA) confirmed it will also have a contingent of members attending today’s funeral services, but noted it was not their practice to share specific details on numbers for security reasons.
"These two line-of-duty deaths are a tremendous loss for our entire policing family. (Today's) service provides an opportunity for us to come together with our policing family from across Canada to recognize and pay our respects to our fallen Constables Northrup and Russell, who both dedicated their lives to serving and protecting their community," said YRPA president Rob O’Quinn. "It also serves as an opportunity to show our support for the Northrup and Russell families, as well as our fellow South Simcoe police members who are devastated by this loss.
"We would like to take this opportunity to thank our members and police officers from across Canada for their commitment to serving and protecting their communities," he added. "The loss of five police officers over the course of the last five weeks serves as a stark reminder of the dangers our members put themselves in each and every day. It is also a reminder of the sacrifices police officers make by putting themselves in harm’s way to ensure others are kept safe."
Fifty military police personnel will also attend the funeral service in Barrie, confirmed Lt. Commander Jamie Bresolin, senior public affairs officer, Canadian Forces Provost Marshal, with the Canadian Armed Forces.
Toronto Police Association chief communications officer Meaghan Gray confirmed via email that its board of directors will be attending today's service, led by association president Jon Reid. The association says it has also been working with the Toronto Police Service to facilitate members’ attendance.
Ontario Provincial Police are currently providing frontline service on behalf of the South Simcoe Police Service during the visitations and funeral for Russell and Northrup, while fire crews from Barrie, Springwater Township, Essa Township, New Tecumseth, and Wasaga Beach will be providing coverage today from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. to allow local firefighters to attend the service. Firefighters and trucks from each of those fire departments will be on site at the stations in South Simcoe to ensure timely response in the case of an emergency.
A number of local roads will be closed in order to accommodate the funeral procession, but are anticipated to reopen at 4 p.m.:
- Bayview Drive from Big Bay Point to Churchill Drive will be closed commencing at 5 a.m.
- Bayview Drive from Churchill Drive to Mapleview Drive will be closed commencing at 8 a.m.
- Harvie Road/Big Bay Point Road will be closed from Veterans Drive to Bayview Drive commencing at 5 a.m. These roads are expected to reopen at approximately 10 a.m.
- Note: Harvie Road becomes Big Bay Point Road at Fairview Road.
- The Dog Off-Leash Recreation Area (DOLRA) located on Bayview Drive will be closed on Thursday.
